Chapter Sixty-Nine: Past Events (2)

"Ah... I can only blame myself for not foreseeing things," Father sighed.

As time passed, the tomb-robbing trade began to revive. Grandfather and his companions, thanks to the funerary objects they had brought out from the Nightlang King's tomb and other ancient sites nearby, were the first to establish themselves in Sichuan. Soon after, renowned figures emerged from both the southern and northern factions. In any thriving trade, more and more tricks are bound to surface. Eventually, Grandfather and his partners no longer confined their activities to Sichuan and Chongqing; from time to time, they would join forces with people from the north or south for major undertakings.

The more you travel, the more you learn. By chance, Grandfather once heard some extraordinary news from a man from Shandong.

That Shandong man, already close to seventy, was a true expert. Hearing that Grandfather had traveled extensively across the country, he asked if Grandfather had ever heard of the "Scrolls of the Four Directions." The two of them were drinking at the time; Grandfather had never heard of it and didn't take it seriously, so he laughed and asked what it was.

The old man sighed but did not explain what the "Scrolls of the Four Directions" actually were. He only said that if one could gather all four scrolls, then everything under heaven could be controlled. Grandfather found it amusing and thought the old man had just heard too many tall tales as a child.

But then, the old man became very serious and earnestly asked Grandfather to help him find those scrolls, even producing some exceedingly rare antiques as a deposit. When Grandfather saw those priceless treasures, he finally realized the matter was not so simple, and pressed further about the scrolls. Yet the old man refused to elaborate, telling Grandfather only that each scroll was hidden within a legendary artifact, and that he himself had no idea what the scrolls actually looked like. However, he was intimately familiar with the artifacts that concealed them, and so he described each item and the possible locations to Grandfather in detail.

When the old man spoke of the last item, Grandfather’s mind buzzed—he immediately realized that the old man was talking about the "Azure-Blooded Dragon Pattern."

"In short, if you help me find these four things, money will flow like water—you can have as much as you want. Even..." The old man lowered his voice, "I can find someone to wipe your family’s slate clean."

Grandfather had known from the start the old man was no ordinary person, but after hearing this, he realized just how deep the waters ran—far beyond anything he could handle. Perhaps even this encounter had been orchestrated from the beginning.

The tomb-robbing trade had been passed down in our family for countless generations. Grandfather knew all too well that some waters should never be tested. Though he had a lead on the Azure-Blooded Dragon Pattern, one look at the old man’s eyes told him not to reveal a single word. Grandfather thought to himself that, anyway, who knew when such things could ever be found? So he casually agreed, letting the old man wait—after all, in a few years, the old man would likely be long gone.

Though the matter ended there, Grandfather often thought of the Scrolls of the Four Directions in the years that followed. When my father was about to take over, Grandfather even began to seriously consider the old man's words. It’s not hard to understand—after all, the life of a tomb robber is no life for anyone, and Grandfather was determined that his descendants should not have to continue in this trade. By then, Grandfather was old and could no longer hope to change things himself, so he confided his burdens to my father.

When Father learned of this, I had just been born. He too did not want me to follow the family’s old path, and so he eagerly supported Grandfather’s wish. However, so many years had passed—the old man was likely little more than bones by then. Even if Grandfather and Father wanted to seek him out, there was little hope.

Before long, Grandfather tried to contact some northern associates from those days. To his surprise, he discovered that the old man was still alive, and, upon hearing from Grandfather, even agreed to meet again.

Father said that Grandfather and the old man talked for an entire day during their second meeting. No one knows what they discussed, but afterward, Grandfather gave Father a strict order: no matter what, he must find the four artifacts the old man had described. If the Yuan family could achieve this, then there would be nothing more to worry about.

Although Father was willing, he was still worried that the old man would not live long enough to see the day. Grandfather reassured him, saying the old man would have his own methods. Before they parted, the old man gave Grandfather a warning:

"I am not the only one searching for the Scrolls of the Four Directions. There are many out there far more formidable than me. If word gets out, it will become a huge mess, and by then... it won't just be the business of tomb robbers."

The implication sent a chill through Father's heart. In the years that followed, while tending to the family’s affairs, he also risked everything to search for the other three legendary artifacts.

Grandfather and Father had already agreed: until all four items were found, not a word about the Azure-Blooded Dragon Pattern should be revealed to anyone—not even to the old man. In this line of work, trust did not exist; only mutual benefit. So Father acted with utmost caution, fearful of making a single misstep.

After hearing all this, I finally understood how Father must have felt when people like Dirt Dog came looking for him. For ordinary people, the pressures of career and life are already overwhelming. But when the lives of so many, the fate of future generations, and the destiny of an entire family rest on one person’s shoulders, any desperate act becomes understandable.

At this point, even Fatty would probably understand some of Father’s thoughts back then.

"If I die, the matter can still be passed on to your second uncle. But if the Azure-Blooded Dragon Pattern falls into someone else’s hands, then our Yuan family..." In the shadows, Father seemed to look at me.

Suddenly, I began to understand why people like Qin Feng were so loyal to my father. If we were in another place, I might have stood up and shouted to my father, "You're a real man!"

After a moment of silence, Father spoke again. "When you took those three copper bricks, you must have seen those Maiden Incense sticks, right?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Are those things related to me or to this tomb?"

Father sighed again. "Yes. I used your blood, here in this tomb, to make a 'Blood Lock.'"

"Blood Lock?" Fatty was astonished. "Sixth Master, isn’t that some dark magic from the southwest? Why would you do that?"

"Hmph. Why else? I just didn’t want anyone else entering the main chamber," Father replied with a sigh.

I quickly asked what a Blood Lock was, and Fatty explained it to me.

The so-called Blood Lock, more properly called a "Blood Guide," originated in the region of Xiangxi. In ancient times, Taoist priests who drove corpses on long journeys would be utterly exhausted by the ordeal. Later, a middle-aged priest known as Liu Ji invented a most bizarre technique: he would collect the blood of infants, sprinkle it at intervals along the route, and perform special rituals at each spot. On his second corpse run, he would not need to walk in front of the corpses; they would simply follow the marked path to their destination.

This method was convenient, but some believed the art was terrifying—children whose blood had been used would later become tainted with corpse energy, sometimes becoming feeble-minded or paralyzed, or even dying young.

However, Liu Ji’s technique inspired later masters in many fields. By the time tomb robbers began using the Blood Guide, it had already evolved dramatically.

It was never easy to find a rich tomb, and even if you did, it was usually impossible to empty it in one go. So tomb robbers would take a certain amount of their own blood, mark a path through the burial chambers, and finally use the Blood Guide to create a Blood Lock. In this way, unless a true master of the arcane appeared, nobody else could claim the treasures protected by the Blood Lock.

Fatty told me that there are many ways to make a Blood Lock, and what my father used was the Maiden Incense.

Listening to all this, I felt half-confused, half-skeptical. I mulled it over for a long time and still found the explanation a bit far-fetched.

Fatty went on, "No wonder those Stone-Armored Spiders only responded to your blood. So that’s the trick. Miss, it seems you have a share in the property rights of this tomb—if this place is ever developed, you could make a tidy profit."

I had no mind to joke with Fatty, and what he said only deepened my doubts about Father's explanations. But by now Father had spoken at length, and his labored breathing told me he was utterly exhausted, so I quickly urged him to rest.

As I shifted forward, I saw Peanut’s face outlined before my eyes. He seemed to be watching me, and then slowly shook his head twice.